Himachal: 86 Una panchayats to go to polls on May 26

Campaigning for the first phase of elections to Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in Una district came to a close on Sunday with voters in 86 out of the total 249 panchayats due to exercise their franchise on May 26. The second and third phase of the elections will be held on May 28 and 30, respectively.

As per an official release quoting DC-cum-District Election Officer Jatin Lal, voting will be held from 7 am to 3 pm and result for posts of pradhan, up-pradhan and ward members will be announced the same evening at the respective counting stations. After polling for Zila Parishad and Panchayat Samiti members, EVMs will be kept in strongrooms and the votes will be counted on May 31 at five subdivisional counting stations.

The DC said of the total 2,139 posts of PRIs in Una district, 706 have been elected unanimously. For the remaining 1,433 posts, 4,009 candidates are in the fray. Una district has 3,78,021 rural voters, including 1,90,767 male, 1,87,252 female and two voters of third gender. Webcasting and live-streaming of the polling process will be ensured on all polling stations, the DC added.

Meanwhile, Una SP Sachin Hiremath presided over a training session for all ranks at the Police Lines ground in Lalsingi village. He directed the security personnel to maintain discipline and not to allow mobile phones inside the polling stations. Flag marches were also held in all five subdivisions to instill a sense of confidence among the voters.